Introduction

It starts like a drain, a low rumbling, then a sudden explosion. The Bezos laugh is something to hear and behold. It happens suddenly and frequently. It's as if the founder and CEO of the web's biggest retailer still can't believe his luck, that people believe in him as some kind of messiah of the net, hanging on to his every word, pointing at him in awe, cherishing his every move.

It is an impossible dream come true. Bezos has become a cult figure on the web. He may not have the technological genius of an Andreesen, or the marketing guile of a Yang, but he had the vision to be first to market and the tenacity to stay there.